1892

May 1, 1892

Laborers Together with God

EGW 

The apostle says, “We are laborers together with God.” In the work of saving souls, divine and human agencies are to be combined. Those who profess to be the followers of Christ are to be laborers together with him. How great is the need now of the manifestation of Christian activity! The truth is to be presented to all nations, and God calls upon his people to enter into partnership with Christ, submitting to the terms which he shall make, fulfilling the condition upon which he will accept them for his service. Has God enlightened you with a knowledge of himself? Have the treasures of his truth been opened unto your understanding? Have you become intelligent in regard to the word of God? Then you are under solemn obligation to impart that knowledge to those who sit in darkness and have no light. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 1

To the humble, the pure in heart, to those who have an eye single to the glory of God, the wants of God's cause will be revealed. He who has the spirit of Christ will realize that there is a great work before the people of God. He will see that foreign countries must be visited, that missionaries with the spirit of self-sacrifice, of fervent devotion, must go to far-away lands to labor, to suffer for Christ's sake. He will see that there is a work to be done in our land that will call for the exercise of all man's God-given abilities. In our own land thousands of foreigners—representatives of many nations, kindreds, and tongues—have settled. People who are ignorant, superstitious, who have no knowledge of the sacred teachings of the word of God, have come to reside in our country. The hand of God has been directing them to our shores that they might be brought under the enlightening influence of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and become partakers of the divine nature. How many among us have been stirred by the spirit of the Master to go forth and labor for this class of strangers who have been brought to our very doors through the providence of God, that his work might be hastened in the earth? Souls are perishing within our reach, and yet the church of God is not aroused from its condition of inactivity and lethargy. A thousand-fold more might have been done than has been done if our souls had been alive to the cause of the Master. A spirit of worldliness prevails, and the souls of men have been counted as of less value than your cattle, your farms, your temporal affairs. God calls upon you to repent, and return unto him. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 2

What will you do in the future? Will you continue to neglect the salvation of souls for whom Christ died? or will you co-operate with the great Benefactor of humanity? Will you, as those upon whom the light of truth has shone, let that light shine forth to those who are in darkness? Oh that you might understand what a privilege you neglect, what an honor you fail to appreciate, when you refuse to become laborers together with God in the great harvest field! Will you not cordially, heartily receive all the advantages God has provided for you, and by exercise diligently put to use every power, every talent, that has been intrusted to you for the advancement of the kingdom of God? Your advancement in the divine life will be in proportion to the improvement you make of your God-given talents in this life. Your reward in the future life will be in accordance with your earnest zeal and love for the cause of the Master. In temporal matters, our enterprises prosper in proportion to the concentration, the diligence, the skill, we put into the work, and our success in the work of the Lord will also depend upon the exercise of wisdom, tact, diligence, and faithfulness. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 3

There is great need of laborers in the harvest field. Where there is now one, there should be a thousand receiving “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” to give it again to the people as they are able to bear it. We must work in harmony with the direction of the word of God. We must make wise plans, exercise good judgment in the selection of men for different fields, choosing them with reference to their gifts as appropriate to the work to which they are directed. And above all, let every worker fulfill the condition upon which he may become a laborer together with God. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 4

The worker for God must be imbued with the spirit of Christ. His love for souls must be fervent, and his faith strong and unwavering. His faith must be that which works by love. He must continually cultivate the graces of the Spirit of God, repressing all unbelief. Under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit, the powers of the missionary of the Lord are to be put to their very highest use. It is thus that man may become a laborer together with God. All whom God has endowed with reasoning powers may become intellectual Christians. God has given abundant evidence of the truth of his word, and he requires that those who would be counted as the followers of Christ should study the Scriptures, that they may be able to give to every man a reason of the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear. He has not required any one to believe without evidence. Let the inquirer after truth put to the stretch his mental powers in diligent study of the word of God. To neglect this duty is to place the soul in peril of eternal death. Each one is required to understand the conditions upon which eternal life depends. We must know what saith the Lord, that we may be able to live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.” We cannot afford to have another settle questions of such momentous import as those concerning our soul's salvation. We must open the Scriptures for ourselves, searching the word of God prayerfully, that we may know the truth as it is in Jesus. We cannot afford to trust to the ministers, to follow idle traditions, to subject our souls to human authority, but we must know for ourselves what God has said. We are to be laborers together with God, and we must know, we must be determined to know, what are the conditions upon which we may become heirs of salvation. If we neglect this important duty, we shall die in our sins. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 5

We are not to make a study as to what are the opinions of men, what are the traditions of the Fathers, or what is the popular faith. We cannot trust to the voice of the multitude, or follow the world in an evil course. Our inquiry should be, What hath God said? what is his revealed will? God has given us his word, he has left on record his commands and promises, he has revealed to us the plan whereby lost man may be saved, and it is our place to search for truth as for hidden treasures. All skepticism, all self-exaltation, all pride of opinion, must be laid aside as we come to the searching of the word of God. With humble heart, with contrite spirit, we must pray for divine enlightenment, and become diligent, thoughtful, earnest students in the school of Christ, learning of him what it is to be meek and lowly of heart. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 6

The duty of studying the Scriptures is not left as an optional matter, on which little depends. The Lord positively enjoins upon every believer the study of his word, that he may have an intelligent faith, built upon the knowledge of the word of truth. He must dig for truth as one who digs for hidden treasure. He must search the Scriptures, comparing scripture with scripture, and thus fitting himself to become a laborer with God in a more extended work. Each one must have faith for himself, for individually we are to work out our “own salvation with fear and trembling,” knowing that it is God who worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 7

Not only does our own salvation depend upon our knowledge of the word of God, but the salvation of others is to a large degree dependent upon our faithfulness to this duty. We are to be laborers together with God, and the word of God is called the sword of the Spirit. The knowledge of revealed truth is the spiritual weapon by which God is to make us mighty to the pulling down of the strongholds of the enemy. It is through the power of the word that souls are to be delivered out of darkness into light. As Christ's representatives and followers, we are to speak the truth in love, making it manifest that we have been with Jesus and learned of him. We are to approach others in the spirit of kindness, in tender affection and compassion, winning them to Christ by a representation of his love and power. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 8

We are to be laborers together with God; and it is needful that our faith and piety be of the heavenly order, that it be sound and healthful, so that when it comes in contact with error, we shall not be moved from our steadfastness, or our integrity be corrupted by the iniquity which we meet. Instead of devoting our talents to the world, we are to devote them to the advancement of the kingdom of God. In doing this, our powers will become elevated, our souls will be ennobled, and our characters purified and fitted for the heavenly abode. To him who is indeed a laborer together with God, the truth becomes a divine inspiration, a living reality. His soul is aroused to the needs of the cause of the Master, and in place of seeking to do less than he has hitherto done, he realizes that more, much more is required of him,—that he is to work as one who is plucking souls as brands from the burning. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 9

The ease-loving spirit that has fallen upon the church, is an offense to God. We are nearing the end, and every moment is golden. O by living faith lay hold upon the power of God, and work to the utmost of your ability, having your testimony so vitalized by the Spirit of God that sinners may feel and realize their danger, and turn unto the living God. Let faith be woven into your experience. Let every believer in the truth be thoroughly alive to the dangers of this time. Let every soul arouse from stupor, and realize that it is not of the ministers alone of whom it is written, “we are laborers together with God.” Every soul who professes the name of Christ is expected to have some part in the work of God. All are to be living branches of the True Vine, active members of the body of Christ, laborers together with God, the light of the world. MMis May 1, 1892, par. 10